OFFICIALLY OSBOURNE: Opening the Doors to the Land of Oz

In this brief but sustained eruption of pure distraction and humor, and in spite of her own decision not to participate in the show, Aimee Osbourne, daughter of 53-year old rock legend Ozzy, chronicles her family's first season experiences starring in their own MTV reality series. While Dad isn't "proud" of being an alcoholic or biting the head off a bat, and Mom thinks a big part of parenting is to be there when the kids "fuck up," Aimee speculates that the wild success of The Osbournes may be that "people like it because we're not that different. They relate to our issues," and she points to her parents' 20-plus year marriage and ability to raise three children "despite Dad's 14 trips to rehab." Aimee's crisp English accent and the tape's musical interludes somewhat belie the strings of bleeped expletives fans have come to expect, and will find in abundance here. Though audio excerpts of the family's "furious and frequent" fights from the television program sometimes seem disjointed, memorable Ozzy soundbites such as "Who's pissed on my fucking carpet?" and "It could be worse, I could be Sting" more than compensate. Simultaneous release with the MTV Books paperback. (Nov.)